Genetic erosion of landraces is increasing worldwide, however there are still regions rich in landrace biodiversity, such as islands and mountainous isolated areas. Defining the reasons of landrace abandonment in these areas, as well as collecting and preserving landraces, is of outmost importance. In this context, the Agricultural University of Athens organized missions in 53 villages of Arcadia, a prefecture rich in floral biodiversity and variable climatic conditions and topography. The aim was to collect samples of the on-farm (in-situ) conserved annual crop landraces and record the location of perennial crop local varieties. Since traditional knowledge and practices have been playing a vital role in the survival of landraces and local varieties, information was obtained through personal interviews with locals using semi-structured questionnaires. Even though the number of accessions collected from Arcadia has been reduced (141 samples) compared to previous collections and genetic erosion is advancing dramatically for cereals and pulses, a significant number of landraces is still cultivated by the locals. The reasons of landrace abandonment were other sources of occupation than agriculture, such as public service jobs, mechanization, and commercialization of agriculture. Gastronomic and agro-tourism along with European Union trademarks and policies can support locals in landrace/local varieties in-situ conservation.

Lupinus mutabilis Sweet is an Andean protein crop with agro-economic potential. However, it is characterized by low yields and phenotypic plasticity related to environmental conditions when cultivated in different locations in Europe. Current research objective was to evaluate L. mutabilis agro-morphological performance in two locations in Greece and to record its pollinators, since these can contribute to optimization of crop performance. For this purpose, eight Andean lupin accessions, one white and one blue lupin commercial varieties were evaluated for 71 agro-morphological traits in a Randomized Complete Block design with three replications. Combined Analysis over Location presented a significant accession-location interaction for traits of economic interest such as seed crude protein and 100 seed weight. Seed crude protein was higher in L. mutabilis accessions (up to 43.8 g 100 g−1 seed) than white and blue lupins. Andean lupin yielded up to 327 kg ha−1 (LIB214) in Kalamata, while its yield was lower than the white lupin in Athens. Using principal component analysis, three groups of accessions were formed, one by each lupin species and three within Andean lupin accessions. Floral traits such as color and size are related to pollinators diversity and preference. Insect pollinators and floral traits interplay among different lupin species was examined. Pollinators visited L. mutabilis flowers belong to the genera Anthophora, Bombus, Megachile and Xylocopa. The results of the present study, indicate that L. mutabilis has agronomic potential and enhances above ground biodiversity, however breeding for higher yields is required.